Amatara

So I'm not a regular con-goer (which is not entirely voluntary: there just aren't many cons to speak of on the European mainland) but there is one con that I treat myself to whenever I get the chance. I'm talking about FedCon in Germany - it's a sci-fi con that started out very small in 1992 but has become pretty huge over the years. 'Huge' not in the sense of it being a mega-event like the really big cons in the US, but they do get several thousands of visitors and at least a handful of big-name guests each year, plus a whole bunch of other actors and artists from a wide range of fandoms. In the years that I've visited the con, I've been lucky to get to see Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Kate Mulgrew, Robert Picardo, Avery Brooks, Nana Visitor, Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, James Callis, Michael Shanks, Christopher Judge, to name the ones that stayed with me the most.

The past two years husband and I were otherwise occupied during the convention weekend, but this year we were free and jumped at the opportunity to go. The major treats this year, to me at least, turned out to be Richard Dean Anderson and William Shatner. With both of them, I hadn't dared to set my expectations too high because I was afraid they'd either be plain arrogant or simply less interesting than I hoped. But I was extremely pleasantly surprised in both cases! I found RDA to be very down-to-earth, spontaneous and great fun to listen to, and Bill Shatner, while obviously drawing from pre-prepared stories, was also very witty and charming and respectful of his audience. Apart from these two, I very much enjoyed getting to see Walter Koenig, Gates McFadden, Joe Flanigan, Teryl Rothery and Kai Owen for the first time. So all in all, it was a very relaxing weekend getaway and a lovely fannish experience! (Actually, I was planning to post a few pics to give you a small taste of the con, but apparently on DW you can only link to existing pics somewhere else on the web, not upload actual pics? I don't have a paid account on DW, is that why? Darn, I really need to get a photobucket account or something!)

In other news:

#1 the Twin Peaks story for heartequals  that I've been working on for a while now is proving to be stubborn as all hell, so is probably going to take me a while longer. I have a first very rough draft ready, but it still needs LOTS of polishing. I'm having heaps of fun trying to whip it into shape, but, you guys! I'm actually writing BOB's voice! For the first time ever! And it is haaaaaaaaaaard! But I also really missed Peaks in general and Coop and Albert in particular, so writing them again is lovely! Which reminds me:

#2 I totally forgot to link to the wonderful Twin Peaks fic that I received from heartequals : I Knew This Much is a wonderful Cooper & Albert gen piece, taking place right after the "Call me crazy - on you it works" scene that marks the beginning of the Windom Earle storyline. The characterizations and dialogue are just stunning, so if you enjoy the series and its characters, I recommend this story with all my heart!

#3 Still in the Twin Peaks theme: the twinpeaks  comm here on DW has just started a rewatch of the series. One episode per week, started last Thursday so there's still plenty of time to jump in and catch up! There's also a friending meme still going on at the same comm; it's a tiny fandom, so we love all the new friends we can make!